Reading List: Timonen upset, Backstrom MIA

Saturday's two conference semifinal games couldn't have been more different.

In the East, Boston started its series in Philadelphia by trampling the Flyers 7-3 behind 4 points by David Krejci, whose broken wrist in Game 3 last year started the sequence of events that led to the Flyers' rally from a 3-0 series deficit.

On the other side of the continent, Nashville and Vancouver did what a lot of teams have been doing in this year's playoffs – go to overtime. Vancouver was 67 seconds away from a second straight 1-0 win, but Ryan Suter tied the game and rookie Matt Halischuk scored the winner 14:51 into the second overtime to send that series back to Music City all even.

The other two series resume Sunday. San Jose, a 2-1 OT winner on Friday, hosts Detroit (3 p.m. ET, NBC, TSN, RDS), while Washington tries to bounce back from a home loss to Tampa Bay in Game 1 (7 p.m. ET, Versus, TSN, RDS).

Here's your daily NHL.com Reading List for a set of quick links to some of the stories you won't want to miss:

Preds' unlikely hero

Matt Halischuk figures to get the ovation of a lifetime when he steps onto the ice Tuesday night at Bridgestone Arena -- after all, the rookie forward is the man who got the Predators even in their series with Vancouver by scoring the goal that won the longest game in franchise history. Dhiren Mahiban was among those who talked with the 22-year-old after his big night.

Canucks can't close

The Vancouver Canucks may rue the one that got away. Dhiren Mahiban writes that for the third year in a row, the Canucks lost Game One of the Western Conference Semifinals -- but this one has to hurt more after they were within 67 seconds of winning in regulation and some Pekka Rinne heroics of taking home an OT victory.

Timonen upset with Flyers' play in Game 1

Philadelphia defenseman Kimmo Timonen didn't spare himself or his teammates for what he called a "bad game on every leve" in Saturday's series-opening loss to Boston. Mike G. Morreale reports that "brutal" was among Timonen's descriptions of the Flyers' defensive play in the 7-3 loss.

More than talk

Boston's Brad Marchand is a pest. But as he showed Saturday, he's a lot more than just a yapper. Adam Kimelman has more about the Bruins; rookie, who scored two goals in Saturday's 7-3 win in Game 1.

Wings' magic man

Pavel Datsyuk can make plays other players can't even imagine. He made a few in Game 1 of Detroit's series against San Jose, and as Dave Lozo writes, the return of Henrik Zetterberg has made him even more dangerous because of their tremendous chemistry.

Backstrom's scoring touch is MIA

Nicklas Backstrom's scoring touch has disappeared, and if the Washington Capitals are to beat the Tampa Bay Lightning in their second-round playoff series, Backstrom had better find his touch quickly. Corey Masisak writes that Backstrom knows he has to do more to help his team than merely be good in his own zone.

Lightning getting a charge from Downie

Who is Tampa Bay's top scorer through eight playoff games? It's not 45-goal man Steven Stamkos or 99-point scorer Martin St. Louis. It's Steve Downie, who as Brian Compton notes, has teamed with Sean Bergenheim and Dominic Moore to give the Lightning a lot of production from the third line.